“Some people, we get emails… that’s my signature paper, my signature pattern, my signature floral. And that feels great, to be able to make an image that someone identifies so much with that it’s their mark.”

Chafey founded the Chicago-based company in 1997.

“I draw a lot of flowers.”

Her latest: the 2011 calendar – her drawing of a different flower every month.

“I love this crazy contrast of yellow and green which is hard to make look elegant, and I actually think we did it.”

Chafey sells to 40 or 50 stores in the Chicago area – and 1200 across the country.

“It’s kind of miraculous to me, that I can draw a picture and that picture gets printed thousands and thousands of times and we have to figure out a way to get it out into the world, and that takes a team of people.”

Seven people, in fact.

Chafey says she does gives some thought to the future as society turns more paperless.

“For us, it seems the more things become digital, the more precious what we do becomes. We just try to be the best so that maybe we’ll be the only ones around.”

Steve Miller is an investigative reporter and has been with Newsradio for more than two decades. He grew up in South Texas and received his undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts at the University of Texas in Austin. After graduation, he moved to...